Apparatus for mining gold at the bottoms of flowing streams.



l L. F. GILMAN. APPARATUS FOR MINING GOLD AT THE BOTTOMS OP PLOWING STBJBMS.

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APPLIOATION FILED 00T.3l, 1907. BENBWEI) DBO. M 1908.

S F. S S M W W ATTORNEYS Nan/us o4. wnsnmamn. n cv JL en /i l\ a. Jenin his LEANDER F. GLMAN, OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNLX.

APARAT'US :FOR MENEN@ @GLD .[-if THE BTTOMS OE' FLOFJNG EpTREAMS.

Application filed October 3l, 1907, Serial Noi l300,630.

Speci'cation of Letters Patent.

atented March S0, i909.

Renewed. December le, 1908. Serial No. $7,537.

and improved Ae, paratus for lining Gold at the Eottoms of ifloaing Streams, ot which the follouing is a full, clear, and exact description.

'lhis invention relates to placer mining for gold, and has for its object to provide a novel iiethod and n'ioans for automatically removing Water from `Within the dani, for exposure of the inclosed bottoni soil and thus enahle the excavation of gold hearing sand and gravel.

Vllurtherinore, the invention includes the provision of means for the separation of gold from debris, hy aching in a flume, and to vhe conducted within the cotl'er darn. con" i ously While the gold hearing material is lacing eXcavated.

The invention coi sts in the novel means for mining gold at ne hottoni of a liozving stream, as is hereinafter described and defined in the appended claims.

Reference is to he had to the acconnntnying drawings fern ing a part this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate cori-espending` parts in all the views.

Figure i is a hrolen "fifmspective view of the improved apparatus l1 cated in a 'ffater course g Fig. 2 is an enlarged detached perspective vie-aV of a detail, broken away to expose interior parts, and having portions removed at each end, and Eig. 3 is an enlarged fragn'ientary transverse sectional vier-.i of the coii'er dani, showing the construction of its side Wall.

ln the drawings, A represents a watercourse, from the bed of which gold is to he taken and as is generally the case in streams hearing gold mixed rsith earthy material at their bottoms, the latter is sand and gravel and frequently nearly level, and it is in such a conformation of the hed of a Water-course that the invention is adapted for successful operation.

rlhe coffer dam is preferably oval in con tour, and comprises tivo .valls 5, 6, formed of any suitable material. The Wall 6, having smaller diameter, is held concentric within the Wall 5, thus producing an annular channel o, between said ivalls. rl`he Walls 5, 6, have such height as will dispose them above the surface of Water they may he sunken in,

and to afford staoihtv and adapt the structure for resisting pressure of Krater current,

said Walls are inclined inward and upward.

Upon the outer surl'ace ol the inner 'a all e,

a supplementary vstall is located, said y, all consisting of a suitable nu -er olv lanlrs oi nf'ood, or plates 6a, of metal, all jointed together edgetvise and held slidaizly upon the inner rfall 6 hv clip plates t, that permit a longitudinal enforced depression to ls" given to any of the wall plates ou, and thus lill np a gap between the lon/'er edge of the inne all o' and any portion of the surface of tne i bottoni that may he depressed Yhelen? the main surface thereof.

T he supplementary Wall members 'oa project a distance above the upper edge of the inner yall 5, and are thus adapted for an enforced dors, nxvard sliding movement a proper degree, for rendering the inner all 6 tight 1",vl'iere it rests upon the surface of ti hed of the stream A, as shown in VFig.

Having selected a point for operation, the coller dani is moored with its converged ends in line with the Water current, hy inea chain or rope cahles, one lo ing indicated i3 in Fig. "l, these cables ege "riding to sorstationary object, such as one or more barges, not shown, that are a ioied in the stream.. The coller dani furti-lei" rendered stationary and Water tight Where is engaged With the hottoin of the Water course A, hy lilling in the space between the vralls 5, 6, of the darn with clay, cement, er other available material that will resist passano oll Water into the dani., as indicated at il.

in order to remove the Water con-eined in the dani, i have provided a Water disch ging systeiin of pipes, that ope. e ai'ltoniatically as a Siphon, consisting oi t ie following details. A conduit pipe 7 passes water tight through the walls 5, 6, and at the inner end is furnished With an enlarged intake nozzle c, that is flexibly connected with the end of said pipe hy any suitahle means, such as a short section of ruhher hose, indicated at d in F ig. l. rThe conduit pipe 7 is extended from the collier dani, down stream to a point of discharge, Which must he somewhat loi/'fer than the bottoni of the Water course that is inclosed in the coiier dani, and in said pipe a valve '7"L is placed, that he near the point for discharging Water therefrom. In the stream A, at a convenient point for access (53a LLA-1 thereto, a et pipe 8 is supported, and at one end is furnished with a nozzle e that is of reduced diameter as compared with the portion oi" the pipe near the other end thereoi". rlhe jet nozzle c is introduced into the conduit pipe and disposed centrally therein, said connection ol the nozzle and conduit pipe being air tight. At the opposite or intake end oi the jet pipe 8, an inlet duct g is secured thereto, and at the point of junction or near it, a valve 7L is introduced that hy adjustment controls the influx of water that passes through the liet pipe.

lt will be seen that the intake end oi the j et pipe S being opposed to the rapid current oi' water ol' the stream A., into which the jet pipe is immersed, upon opening the valve lz. more or less as may be necessary i'or the effective operation oi' the device, the jet oi water forced through the pipe 8 will produce a vacuum in the portion ol the conduit pipe 7 between the jet nozzle c and the intake nozzle c. Now, as the discharging end oi the conduit pipe 7 is positioned lower than the intake end thereof, it will be evident that water contained in the dam will be rapidly removed by the joint action oi the conduit and jet pipes, so that the bottom A/ of the stream that is within the inclosing Walls of the coller dam, will be exposed suiliciently for conducting mining operations in the dam.

A sluice or open box 9, that may be provided on its bottom with transverse rill'les, or any other preferred means l" r separating gold in granular and scale lorm from waste matter, is held in place by engagement oi' its end portions in the walls 5, 6, through which said sluice box passes, as indicated in Fig. i. The end ol' the sluice boX 9 that is presented at the upper end oi the coi'ler dam to the water current, is provided with a valve al, that by adjustment controls the ilow ol water into and through the sluice box, which may also be controlled, ii desired, by a valve m, that is on the discharging end oi the sluice box.

lt will be apparent that sanl and gravel, or either as the case may be, may be readily excavated from the bottom A. and placed in the sluice box 9 'for separation oi gold it may contain 'from the gravel and sand, by washing the same or by submitting the Washed material to amalgamation with mercury or the like, as is usual for saving fine gold dust from the refuse matter.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In placer mining, an apparatus embodying oorl'er dam having two spaced walls, and a waterproof filling between said walls, and means for removing water therel'roin automatically by siphon action.

2. ln placer mining, an apparatus embodying a coiier dam, having oval contour and iorined with spaced and sloped Walls, a waterproof filling between said walls, a water conduit pipe having communication at one end with water in the coller dam, and a jet pipe tapping the conduit pipe for removal oi water from the dam by siphon action.

3. ln placer mining, a coi!1 er dam, a conduit l edge of said dam water tight on the bottom I of the stream, and device for automatically removing water contained in the dam, comprising a main water conduit pipe tapping the wall of the dam with one end, and a valve controlled jet pipe inserted into the conduit pipe and by water flowing through said Jet pipe from the stream, causing water to i'low il'irough the conduit pipe by Siphon action of the device.

5. ln placer mining, a coller dam, a conduit pipe leading out through the dam and having an intalre nozzle within the dam, and a jet pipe having one end projecting into the conduit pipe at an angle thereto and outside of the dam, the other end of the jet pipe having an inlet duct and a valve for controlling the inilow of water from the duct thereto.

ln testimony whereof l have signed my naine to this speciiication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEANDER F. GLNLAN.

TWitnesses C. M. GoTrr-in, H. JonNsoN. 

